Money, not billboards, reason for declining number of faithful

“It would save some of the churches around the Midwest a ton of money if they would stop preaching hellfire at students,” wrote dear Abby Schwimmer (Highway Hellfire, July 2).\nAbby, you miss the point. Little old Christian ladies, along with attending Bible study and playing church organ, are apparently more than willing to part with money in defense of the faith. Saving money is not the issue.\nA study by The Barna Organization, Ventura, Calif., published online on June 11 (access at www.barna.org) may give you some insight into what Christian coercion of students, indeed of all young people, may well be about.\n“One of the most fascinating insights from the (Barna) research is the increasing size of the no-faith segment (of American) society with each successive generation.\n“The proportion of atheists and agnostics increases from six percent of Elders (ages 61+) and nine percent of Boomers (ages 42-60), to 14 percent of Busters (23-41) and 19 percent of adult Mosaics (18-22).”\nSo, in my estimation, it is the religion’s inability to continue to raise vast sums of money as time goes on that is damaging.\nReligion is big-time business, and I believe that money is its lifeblood. Ever hear of Benny Hinn, and past religious greats such as Jerry Falwell and Ted Haggard?